High-Impact Player Returns for Packers After Major Injury

Linebacker Nick Niemann thought his season was over when he suffered a torn pectoral against the Steelers on Oct. 26.

Green Bay Packers linebacker Nick Niemann returned to practice on Wednesday. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – When special-teams ace Nick Niemann suffered a torn pectoral in Week 8 at Pittsburgh, he thought his season was over.

Instead, the linebacker was back at practice on Wednesday and is hoping to be back on the field for next week’s playoff game.

“Just excited to be back and part of this thing and try to help us make a push,” Niemann said after practice.

“I’m coming back now a little bit ahead of schedule. So, was taking it week by week, seeing how it was going, and I’m feeling good enough to get out there and try to practice and see what it feels like.”

Lost in the shuffle of the trade for Micah Parsons, the Packers after final roster cuts signed Niemann. Like Parsons to the defense, Niemann was making a profound impact before a serious injury.

In seven games, he recorded 11 tackles on special teams. That put him on pace for about 27. The most by a Packers player this century, according to the official league stats, was safety Marviel Underwood’s 23 tackles in 2005. Safety Derrick Martin, with 21 in 2009, is the only other player with 20.

That made the injury particularly crushing in the moment.

“Terrible. It sucks, especially when you’re on a team like this and you’re a Super Bowl-contending team and, like you said, having a good year, off to a good start. And then it’s over,” he said.

“I’ve never really been a dude that’s had a lot of significant injuries like this aside from a little bit of soft-tissue stuff. Having to deal with that, never having a pec injury before, so it definitely stunk, but being able to know that I was going to have a chance to come back late in the year gave me some motivation and some goals during rehab, which made it a lot better.”

Contrast the feeling of disappointment with the one this week when he got green-lighted to return to practice.

“It’s good,” he said. “Obviously, still trying to get a feel for how I’m feeling and stuff but each part of the process and seeing progress has been fun. And then getting to a point where I’m putting pads on today and getting out there and knowing that I have a real chance to play in the playoffs is definitely exciting and made it better overcoming what happened.”

Niemann was putting up rare production. No Packers player had even 10 tackles on special teams last season. The last time a player had 15 tackles was Jarrett Bush with 16 in 2012.

“That’s another reason that it was frustrating to be out when you’re on track like that,” Niemann said. “That’s kind of how I made a name for myself in the league to begin with. And then getting a role to where Rich (Bisaccia) and me and the rest of our unit were getting in a groove figuring out how guys work and play together, we were just hitting our strides. That was good.

“To have goals and to know what I can do on special teams and was trying to strive for that, and then it stops, but this is about the team. I would much rather make a run as a team in the playoffs than having a good year personally. So, I’m seeing this as glass half full.”

Niemann was a sixth-round pick by the Chargers in 2021. He had a career-high 14 tackles on special teams as a rookie and added 11 last year. He signed with the Texans in free agency but didn’t make their 53-man roster.

“He was real smart and had a lot of different skills,” Bisaccia said after the Pittsburgh game. “We moved him all over the place. We put him in a lot of different positions, not only on kickoff but on punt return and what we were doing on kickoff return, as well. We’ll see how long and when and it’ll be a loss, for sure.”

Ultimately, Niemann’s potential return to the 53-man roster will be a medical decision. Wednesday’s practice was a big first step, though, with the team working in pads and Niemann feeling good about his first day of work since he had three tackles at Pittsburgh on Oct. 26.

“Just overall strength, explosiveness, feeling like I can go out there and play to the same level that I had before,” Niemann said. “Pain, I can play through pain. It’s really just making sure that I’m not putting myself in jeopardy.

“But I felt good out there today. I did a lot of stuff that was probably close to full speed, and it felt pretty good. Obviously, the rest of this week of practice and then next week, I’ll have another four or five or six practices to get a feel for it, but I feel good about it.

Green Bay Packers linebacker Nick Niemann made four tackles in his debut against the Lions. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Packers Record for Special Teams Tackles

From Page 91 of the Packers Media Guide, here are the single-season leaders for tackles on special teams, by the coaches’ count.

35: John Dorsey, 1984.

34: Guy Prather,1981.

30: John Dorsey, 1985.

29: Randy Scott, 1981; Cliff Lewis, 1983.

26: Guy Prather, 1984.

25: Jason Hunter, 2007 (the official stats show Hunter had 13).

24: Mike McCoy, 1976.

The only players with 20-plus tackles since 2002, by the coaches’ count:

25: Jason Hunter, 2007 (13, according to official stats).

23: Marviel Underwood, 2005 (23, according to official stats).

22: Paris Lenon, 2002 (19, according to official stats).

22: Brady Poppinga, 2005 (17, according to official stats).

22: Desmond Bishop, 2009 (17, according to official stats).

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER